BMX World Championships go off in Birmingham, UK, this week

The UCI BMX World Championships & Challenge are set to begin this Thursday, May 24 with competition running through Sunday, May 27. Twenty five of America’s top elite BMX racers will contest this final qualifying event before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

“The BMX World Championships in Birmingham are key in confirming our top male and female athletes for the London Olympic Games,” said USA Cycling BMX Programs Director Mike King. “We have a strong men’s program and our women’s program is quickly progressing. We believe we have more than a few athletes who can obtain a podium and even better. Winning the World Championships ten weeks before the Olympic Games will boost anyone’s confidence.”

Elite racing action, which has even more than an illustrious world championship on the line, will begin with qualifying time trials on Friday and culminate with the main event on Saturday. The world championships are the final race to count toward the 2011-12 USA Cycling BMX Power Rankings, part of the selection criteria used to name athletes to the U.S. Olympic Team for BMX. Following the event, the elite male and female rider atop USA Cycling’s Power Rankings will be awarded an automatic nomination as one of three men and two women who will represent the U.S. Olympic team. The second men’s spot will be awarded to the winner of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – BMX which will take place June 16 in Chula Vista, Calif on the new, London-replica BMX track. Remaining spots will be determined via discretionary selection.

Winner of two of this season’s three UCI BMX Supercross World Cup contests, Connor Fields (Henderson, N.V./Chase BMX) currently leads the power rankings with David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Free Agent-Rockstar) hot on his heels. On the women’s side Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash./Intense BMX) holds a slight lead in the rankings over Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif./Haro Bikes) and recent Papendal World Cup winner Alise Post (Saint Cloud, Minn./Redline). With 300 points potentially available to the winner of Saturday’s World Championship finals, the automatic nomination is attainable for a variety of athletes.

“When you look at the women’s overall power rankings, this final race mirrors our Olympic Trials race because the top four women are only separated by 49 points," explained King. "It’s likely that this week's top result from our women’s program will win the overall.”

More than 100 of America’s best amateur riders, juniors and masters, will also compete in the UCI BMX World Challenge beginning on Thursday. The competition will wrap-up on Sunday with the cruiser class competition. More information including a U.S. challenge class start list is available on USA Cycling BMX World Championships page.

This Article Published May 21, 2012
For more information contact: asmith -at- usacycling dot org

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